The American St. Nick

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM PROVIDED BY... WARGAMING, DEVELOPER OF ONLINE WORLD WAR II GAMES "WORLD OF TANKS" AND UPCOMING "WORLD OF WARSHIPS."

WARGAMING HONORS THE GREATEST GENERATION BY SUPPORTING HERITAGE PROJECTS, EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES, AND STORIES LIKE THIS.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY... SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM ALSO MADE POSSIBLE BY... [ MARCHING BAND PLAYING ] THANK YOU FOR COMING.

RICHARD BROOKINS, LIKE MANY VETERANS OF WORLD WAR II, IS COMFORTABLE RIDING IN A JEEP BUT MOST UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN IT COMES TO PEOPLE LABELING HIM A HERO.

WE USED TO GO DOWN THAT ROAD THAT WE JUST PASSED.

YES.

YES.

NOW WE GO DIRECTLY TO THE CASTLE?

YES.

[ SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ] WINDING THROUGH THE NARROW STREETS OF WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG, ON A CHILLY DECEMBER AFTERNOON, BROOKINS, LIKE ALL AMERICANS WHO SERVED IN EUROPE IN 1944 AND 1945, IS EMBRACED IN THE SMALL VILLAGES AND TOWNS AS A LIBERATOR, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MILLIONS OF BOYS AND YOUNG MEN FROM MANY NATIONS WHO FOUGHT FOR THE WORLD'S FREEDOM DECADES AGO.

HOWEVER, HERE IN WILTZ, THE FEELINGS FOR DICK BROOKINS RUN MUCH DEEPER THAN THOSE FOR A RANDOM AMERICAN G.I.

WHO PASSED THROUGH THEIR VILLAGE, TOWN, OR CITY IN 1944.

THANK YOU FOR COMING.

THERE IS A BOND BETWEEN THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN WILTZ AND RICHARD BROOKINS THAT WILL NEVER BE BROKEN... HI, EVERYBODY!

...THE RESULT OF ONE ACT OF KINDNESS DURING ONE COLD DECEMBER DAY IN 1944... THANK YOU FOR COMING AGAIN.

...A BRIEF YET POWERFUL MOMENT IN A WORLD WAR THAT SAW A GROUP OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS BRING HOPE, HUMANITY, AND A CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION BACK TO THIS SMALL TOWN IN LUXEMBOURG, IF ONLY FOR ONE DAY.

UNTIL THAT MOMENT, WILTZ HAD EXPERIENCED ONLY DARKNESS AND DESPAIR FOR FOUR LONG YEARS UNDER GERMAN OCCUPATION.

WILTZ, LOCATED IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE COUNTRY OF LUXEMBOURG, MAY OFFICIALLY HAVE EUROPEAN STATUS AS A CITY, BUT THIS SMALL COMMUNE LOOKS, FEELS, AND FUNCTIONS MUCH MORE LIKE A SMALL TOWN.

IT'S A CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY WHERE EVERYONE KNOWS EACH OTHER BY THEIR FIRST NAME AND MOST EVERYTHING IS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE, ALBEIT UP SOME PRETTY STEEP HILLS.

PART OF THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG, THE NAME "WILTZ" COMES FROM THE CELTIC WORD MEANING "CREEK."

WILTZ'S HISTORY DATES BACK TO 764, WHEN THE CELTS FIRST LIVED HERE.

IN 1240, WILTZ RECEIVED ITS CHARTER OF FREEDOM.

AT THE HEART OF WILTZ IS ITS BEAUTIFUL CASTLE, ITS ORIGINS DATING BACK TO 1573.

WILTZ IS NESTLED AMONGST THE ROLLING HILLS AND TALL PINE TREES OF THE DENSE AND FOREBODING ARDENNES FOREST, WHICH, BESIDES LUXEMBOURG, HUGS THE BORDERS OF BELGIUM, GERMANY, AND FRANCE.

IT WAS THROUGH THE ARDENNES FOREST THAT THE GERMAN ARMY CAME ON MAY 10, 1940, INVADING LUXEMBOURG AND EVENTUALLY BELGIUM, THE NETHERLANDS, AND FRANCE.

THE INVASION OF THE LOW COUNTRIES, AS IT IS KNOWN, WAS SO POWERFUL AND SWIFT THAT LUXEMBOURG SURRENDERED AFTER JUST ONE DAY OF FIGHTING.

QUICKLY, THE GERMAN ARMY GAVE WAY TO NAZI RULE, AND LIFE CHANGED OVERNIGHT FOR THOSE LIVING IN THIS QUIET TOWN, A VACATION DESTINATION FOR THOSE IN THE REGION.

YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, WHEN THE GERMANS WERE HERE, THEY VIEWED LUXEMBOURG AS THEIR TERRITORY, AND THEY TRIED TO RECLAIM IT, SO THERE WAS A RE-EDUCATION PROCESS.

ALL THE STREET NAMES THAT HAD BEEN -- YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES HAD FRENCH NAMES WERE CHANGED TO GERMAN NAMES AND, YOU KNOW, HERMANN GOERING BOULEVARD AND ADOLF HITLER AVENUE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, SO THERE WAS A GERMANIZATION THAT WAS TAKING PLACE, AND THE PEOPLE IN LUXEMBOURG DIDN'T WANT IT, DIDN'T WANT TO GO ALONG WITH IT.

THE NATIVE LANGUAGE, LUXEMBOURGISH, WAS OUTLAWED.

ONLY GERMAN COULD BE SPOKEN NOW.

LUXEMBOURG AND WILTZ HAD ESSENTIALLY BECOME A PART OF HITLER'S THIRD REICH.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS WERE ALSO DRAMATICALLY CURTAILED.

ONLY GERMAN HOLIDAYS WERE TO BE OBSERVED NOW.

AND IT WAS ROUGH FOR THEM.

I MEAN, IT WAS AN OPPRESSIVE ENVIRONMENT, TO SAY THE LEAST.

THERE WASN'T A LOT OF FOOD.

THERE WASN'T A LOT OF MEDICAL SUPPLIES.

THINGS WERE VERY TIGHT HERE.

SO, IT WAS A HARD, HARD LIFE.

THERE WOULD ALSO BE NO MORE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS AND NO MORE VISITS FROM ST. NICOLAS.

THE HOLIDAY AND LUXEMBOURG'S VERSION OF SANTA CLAUS WERE FORBIDDEN.

PRIOR TO 1940 AND AS LEGEND HAS IT, ST. NICOLAS, KNOWN TO LUXEMBOURGERS AS DE KLEESCHEN, WOULD COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN AND APPEAR IN VILLAGES AND TOWNS ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH HIS HELPER, HOUSEKER, ALSO CALLED BLACK PETER, ON THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 5th.

LIKE SANTA CLAUS, DE KLEESCHEN ASKED THE CHILDREN OF LUXEMBOURG IF THEY HAD BEEN GOOD THAT YEAR.

IF THE KIDS SAID YES, THEN ST. NICK WOULD GIVE THEM ORANGES, NUTS, AND CHOCOLATE.

IF THE ANSWER WAS NO, THEN THE LEGEND GOES THE CHILD WOULD GET A ROOT.

SELDOM WERE ROOTS LEFT.

AMONG OTHER PARTS OF THE TRADITION, CHILDREN WOULD ALSO LEAVE HAY OUT FOR DE KLEESCHEN'S DONKEY.

CEREMONIES RECOGNIZING THE LEGEND OF ST. NICOLAS TOOK PLACE FOR CENTURIES IN LUXEMBOURG, UNTIL THE GERMANS PUT A STOP TO IT IN 1940.

DE KLEESCHEN WAS NOW OUTLAWED.

Interpreter: IT WAS A VERY, VERY BAD TIME FOR ME HERE IN WILTZ -- FOR EVERYBODY.

WE WERE SUPPRESSED POLITICALLY.

THINGS HERE WERE VERY HARD.

IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE WOULD NOT EVEN TALK TO THEIR NEIGHBORS BECAUSE THEY FEARED THAT THE GERMAN SPIES MIGHT BE LISTENING TO THEIR CONVERSATIONS.

VIOLENCE ALSO BECAME PART OF LIFE IN WILTZ AFTER THE NAZIS MOVED IN.

IN LATE AUGUST 1942, THE GERMANS ORDERED YOUNG MEN 17 AND OLDER FROM WILTZ AND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY CONSCRIPTED INTO GERMANY'S ARMY AND PLEDGE THEIR LOYALTY TO ADOLF HITLER.

[ SPEAKING GERMAN ] THE PEOPLE HAD HAD ENOUGH AND CALLED FOR A GENERAL COUNTRYWIDE STRIKE, ORGANIZED AND STARTED IN WILTZ.

[ BELLS RINGING ] IT BEGAN WITH WORKERS FROM THE LOCAL IDEAL LEATHER FACTORY WALKING OFF THE JOB.

[ MEN SHOUTING ] THE STRIKE SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

TEACHERS WOULDN'T TEACH.

FAMILIES KEPT THEIR KIDS HOME FROM SCHOOL.

SHOP OWNERS DIDN'T OPEN.

LABORERS DIDN'T WORK.

AND THEY DID WHAT THEY COULD TO RESIST AGAINST THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN FAIRNESS, THEY COULD ONLY DO SO MUCH, CONSIDERING THEY WERE UNDER THE NAZI OCCUPATION.

SO, IT WAS A HARD TIME.

IT WAS VERY HARD.

THE GERMAN GESTAPO RESPONDED TO THE STRIKE BY SHOOTING 21 LUXEMBOURGERS.

TWO OF THE STRIKE ORGANIZERS FROM WILTZ WERE EXECUTED IN THE HINZERT CONCENTRATION CAMP.

[ GUNSHOTS ] FOUR LOCAL TEACHERS FROM WILTZ WERE SENTENCED TO DEATH AT THE SAME CONCENTRATION CAMP.

A MEMORIAL TO THE STRIKE IS FOUND IN WILTZ TODAY.

IN AUGUST OF 1944, THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS OF THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION MARCHED THROUGH PARIS, COMMEMORATING THE LIBERATION OF THE FRENCH CAPITAL.

CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS, FROM ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, WASN'T WITH HIS FELLOW 28th SOLDIERS BECAUSE HE WASN'T OFFICIALLY CONSIDERED A MEMBER OF THE DIVISION'S INFANTRY.

IT WAS VERY SATISFYING THAT WE WERE MAKING THAT KIND OF PROGRESS, THAT WE WERE GOING ACROSS LARGE TERRITORIES ON ANY GIVEN DAY, AND...

THINKING THAT, "BOY, THIS IS A THING THAT ISN'T THAT TOUGH."

DICK BROOKINS WAS A CRYPTOGRAPHER IN THE SIGNAL COMPANY'S MESSAGE CENTER.

NOT BEING AN INFANTRYMAN DIDN'T MATTER TWO MONTHS LATER, AS BROOKINS AND THE ENTIRE 28th DIVISION FOUND ITSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF THE WAR'S MOST SAVAGE AND CONTROVERSIAL FIGHTS, IN THE HUERTGEN FOREST.

ALL THE GUYS WERE LATE 19, 20 YEARS OLD, WHICH I WAS.

THE HUERTGEN FOREST BORDERED BOTH GERMANY AND BELGIUM.

THE FOREST WAS DARK, WITH HUGE FIR AND HARDWOOD TREES TOWERING ABOVE THE SOLDIERS.

IT WAS A MESS OF BRANCHES, NARROW TRAILS, AND HILLY TERRAIN.

IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS TO SEE EVEN A FEW FEET IN FRONT OF THEM.

THE PLACE WAS DANK AND DREARY AND A DEFENDER'S DREAM.

THE GERMANS DUG IN AND LET THE U.S.

SOLDIERS COME TO THEM, INFLICTING 80% ALLIED CASUALTIES IN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE FIGHT, WHICH BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER OF 1944.

THE SOLDIERS CALLED THE FOREST A MEAT GRINDER FOR THE AMOUNT OF MEN SENT IN WHO LATER CAME OUT EITHER DEAD OR WOUNDED.

DICK BROOKINS' JOB WITH THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION, ALSO KNOWN AS THE KEYSTONE DIVISION, SINCE MANY OF THE SOLDIERS WERE FROM PENNSYLVANIA, PUT HIM RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIGHT IN THE HUERTGEN FOREST.

MY MAIN MOS AT THAT TIME WAS DEALING WITH ENCODING AND DECODING.

WE WERE SCHEDULED FOR CERTAIN HOURS OF THE DAY OR EVENING TO WORK, SO WE SHOWED UP FOR DUTY AT H-HOUR, WHATEVER IT WAS, AND WE'D BE ON DUTY PROBABLY... WELL, MAYBE FOUR HOURS, FIVE HOURS.

WHEN BROOKINS MOVED INTO THE HUERTGEN FOREST IN OCTOBER OF 1944, THE FIGHTING WAS BLOODY.

THE REST OF THE 28th, EVENTUALLY SENT INTO THE BATTLE IN EARLY NOVEMBER, WOULD SUFFER SOME 6,000 CASUALTIES IN JUST 2 WEEKS BEFORE BEING TAKEN OFF THE LINE ON NOVEMBER 14th.

FOLLOWING THE HUERTGEN FIGHT, DICK BROOKINS AND THE DEVASTATED 28th INFANTRY DIVISION DESPERATELY NEEDED SOME REST.

YOU HEAR STORIES ABOUT SOLDIERS TRAINING IN ENGLAND, ARRIVING ON A TROOP CARRIER, PUT ONTO A TRUCK, AND BROUGHT TO THE HUERTGEN AND THEN KILLED WITHIN HOURS OF ARRIVAL.

BY SEPTEMBER OF 1944, WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG, HAD BEEN LIBERATED BY THE ADVANCING AMERICAN ARMY.

THE PEOPLE OF WILTZ WERE CELEBRATING THEIR FREEDOM FROM GERMAN OPPRESSION AFTER FOUR LONG YEARS.

THE SUN HAD STARTED TO SHINE ONCE AGAIN IN THIS PART OF THE ARDENNES FOREST.

THE GERMANS KEPT RETREATING, RETREATING.

THERE WERE A LOT OF BATTLES TO FORCE THAT KIND OF A THING.

CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS HAD ARRIVED IN WILTZ JUST AHEAD OF THE OTHER SOLDIERS OF THE BATTERED KEYSTONE DIVISION.

WILTZ HAD BEEN ASSIGNED TO BE THE 28th DIVISION'S NEXT STOP FOR SOME R&R, FOLLOWING THE FIERCE BATTLE IN THE HUERTGEN FOREST.

AND THEY WERE SENT HERE TO WILTZ.

SO, THESE GUYS WERE BATTLE-HARDENED.

THEY'D BEEN JUST DESTROYED IN THIS BATTLE.

THEY NEEDED -- THEY NEEDED SOME DOWNTIME, AND THIS WAS THEIR DOWNTIME.

THIS IS THE FIRST PLACE I REMEMBER THAT ALL THE BUILDINGS WERE WHOLE.

EVERYTHING WAS IN PLACE.

APPARENTLY, THE GERMANS HAD NOT DEFENDED IT.

IN NOVEMBER OF 1944, WILTZ WAS FAR ENOUGH BACK FROM THE FRONT LINES THAT THE 28th SOLDIERS AND CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS FELT THEY COULD FINALLY RELAX A BIT.

ALL WAS QUIET IN THIS PART OF THE ARDENNES FOREST -- SO QUIET THAT ALLIED SUPREME COMMANDER GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER HAD GATHERED MANY OF HIS TOP GENERALS FOR A MEETING IN WILTZ IN OCTOBER OF 1944.

CORPORAL HARRY STUTZ, LIKE DICK BROOKINS, WAS ALSO IN THE 28th SIGNAL COMPANY.

THE TWO SOLDIERS WORKED ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER MANY DAYS.

THEY WERE BEST FRIENDS.

THEY'D BEEN THROUGH THICK AND THIN TOGETHER.

THEY WERE BOTH IN THE COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY.

SOON AFTER ARRIVING IN WILTZ, STUTZ RECOGNIZED THAT THE PAST FOUR YEARS UNDER GERMAN OCCUPATION HAD BEEN VERY DIFFICULT ON THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE, ESPECIALLY THE CHILDREN.

THEIR FATHERS AND BROTHERS WERE EITHER IN THE GERMAN ARMY, DEAD, OR HIDING IN THE ARDENNES AS PART OF LOCAL RESISTANCE GROUPS.

SOMBER-LOOKING WOMEN AND CHILDREN MADE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE LOCAL POPULATION.

AS CHRISTMAS 1944 APPROACHED, HARRY STUTZ, WHO WAS JEWISH, HAD BEEN HEARING ABOUT WILTZ'S ST. NICOLAS DAY AND THE LEGEND OF DE KLEESCHEN.

HE HAD BEFRIENDED SOMEBODY IN TOWN AND HAD FOUND OUT JUST TALKING WITH THEM THAT THIS EVENT WAS COMING UP, THIS ST. NICOLAS DAY, AND THAT THE TOWN REALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY WAY OF CELEBRATING IT.

THEY WOULD, OF COURSE, CELEBRATE ST. NICOLAS DAY, 'CAUSE IT WOULD BE THE FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS THAT THEY HAD BEEN ABLE TO, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE MUCH BECAUSE OF GERMAN OCCUPATION AND THE TRIALS AND HORRORS OF WAR TO CELEBRATE WITH.

SO, HARRY WAS TOUCHED BY THIS AND DECIDED, "WELL, THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO."

SO, HE GOT THIS IDEA OF HAVING A CHRISTMAS PARTY.

IT WAS FOR THE TOWN, BUT IT WAS ALSO FOR THE SOLDIERS, AS WELL, 'CAUSE THEY KNEW THEY WEREN'T GONNA BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, AND SO THEY THOUGHT, "WELL, WHAT IF WE HAD A BIT OF A CHRISTMAS PARTY?"

HARRY STUTZ HAD TO GET PERMISSION FOR THE PARTY FROM 28th DIVISION COMMANDING GENERAL NORMAN "DUTCH" COTA.

GENERAL COTA THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA, GREAT P.R., AND EVEN COMMISSIONED THE PRINTING OF INVITATIONS TO THIS PARTY, AND SO HARRY MET WITH SOME OF THE TEACHERS AND THE SCHOOL, AND HE ALSO MET WITH FATHER WOLFFE, THE PRIEST THAT WAS HERE AT THE TIME, WHICH WAS KIND OF AN ODD SITUATION, BECAUSE HERE WAS HARRY, THIS JEWISH SOLDIER, MEETING WITH THIS CATHOLIC PRIEST TO DISCUSS A CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR THE TOWN OF WILTZ.

THERE WERE SO MANY WEIRD INCARNATIONS THERE, BUT HE ORGANIZED IT AND HE GOT THE CHRISTMAS BAND TOGETHER.

HE ASKED THE COMPANY COOKS TO MAKE DOUGHNUTS AND COOKIES FOR THE CHILDREN, AND HE ASKED THE G.I.s THAT HE COULD GET AHOLD OF TO DONATE WHATEVER THEY COULD TO HAND OUT LITTLE GIFTS TO THE KIDS.

AND EVERYBODY DID.

A DATE OF DECEMBER 5th WAS AGREED UPON FOR THE ST. NICOLAS DAY PARTY.

ALL CORPORAL HARRY STUTZ NEEDED NOW WAS SOMEONE TO BE KLEESCHEN.

AND THAT'S WHEN HE APPROACHED HIS ROOMMATE, RICHARD, AND SAID, "YOU KNOW, WE NEED YOU."

WHEN HE FIRST ASKED ME, I SAID NO.

THAT WAS MY RESPONSE.

AND, UH...

HE PRESSED A LITTLE BIT, I REMEMBER, AND SAID, "WELL, YOU KNOW, I GOT TO HAVE A ST. NICOLAS BECAUSE WE GOT THIS PARTY ALL PUT TOGETHER AND IT'S GONNA START PRETTY SOON.

I NEED A ST.

NICOLAS."

AND RICHARD EVENTUALLY, RELUCTANTLY AGREED.

REALLY, WHAT I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT IS, "I DON'T WANT THAT JOB.

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHO ST. NICOLAS IS, WHAT HE DOES," REALIZED THE KIDS LOOK AT HIM AS A KIND OF A SANTA CLAUS, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO SPOIL ANYTHING.

WELL, I FELL BACK ON THE IDEA THAT, WELL, HE'S A FRIEND, AND HE NEEDS HELP, SO I SAID YES.

AND THEN HE PULLED A SURPRISE ON ME.

HE SAYS, "OKAY, THAT'S GOOD.

NOW WE'RE READY TO GO NOW," SO I GOT IN THE JEEP.

HE DROVE ME UP TO THE CASTLE, AND THERE WERE TWO NUNS AT THE DOOR, AND THEY WERE WAITING FOR ME, AND I CAN REMEMBER THEY WERE KIND OF GIGGLING AND LAUGHING AND SO FORTH, AND THEY HAD PARAPHERNALIA WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE THE LOCAL PRIEST'S VESTMENTS FOR SAYING MASS.

THEY WEREN'T COSTUMES.

THEY WERE HIS GARB THAT HE WAS LOANING.

AND, ALSO, THEY DID HAVE THE PROPS OF A BISHOP'S MITRE AND A SCEPTER WHICH WAS HELD TOGETHER BY TAPE BECAUSE THE CROOK OF THE SCEPTER HAD BROKEN, BUT IT WAS TAPED ON, AND A ROPE BEARD.

AND THE ROPE BEARD WAS REALLY A CHALLENGE BECAUSE IT WAS A SCRAGGLY, REALLY FRAYED BUNCH OF ROPE.

FORMAL INVITATION TO WILTZ'S FIRST ST. NICOLAS PARTY IN ALMOST FIVE YEARS WERE CRAFTED BY SOLDIERS FROM THE 28th DIVISION'S MESSAGE CENTER SECTION.

THEY WOULD BE DELIVERED TO LOCAL SCHOOLCHILDREN AND CITIZENS OF WILTZ BY SOLDIERS FROM THE 28th.

THE INVITATIONS READ, "THE 28th SIGNAL COMPANY MESSAGE CENTER SECTION IS HAPPY TO HAVE THE CHILDREN OF WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG, AS THEIR GUESTS FOR OUR SANTA CLAUS PARTY ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1944."

THE OFFICIAL CELEBRATION WOULD BE HELD INSIDE THE WILTZ CASTLE.

WHEN THE G.I.s FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS, THEY TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO SORT OF OPEN THEIR HEARTS AND SAY, "OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING FOR YOU, FOR THE TOWN."

AND I THINK, WHILE IT WAS CERTAINLY A GENEROUS GESTURE FOR THE TOWN, IT WAS REALLY FOR THE CHILDREN MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE.

SETTLED IN A VALLEY, MIST HANGS OVER WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG, IN THE WINTER, GIVING THE ENTIRE AREA THE FEEL AND LOOK OF A TOWN HIGH IN THE CLOUDS.

THAT MIST AND DRIZZLE HAD ALSO ROLLED IN ON WILTZ ON THE MORNING OF DECEMBER 5, 1944.

THE SUN MAY NOT HAVE BEEN OUT ON THAT CHILLY DAY IN THE MIDDLE OF WORLD WAR II, BUT WILTZ WAS AGLOW IN THE WARMTH AND ANTICIPATION OF THEIR FIRST ST. NICOLAS CELEBRATION SINCE 1939.

A U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS FILM CAMERA WAS THERE TO CAPTURE THE MOMENTS AS THEY UNFOLDED.

[ "GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN" PLAYS ] BEFORE THE PARTY THAT NIGHT AT THE CASTLE, THERE WOULD BE A VISIT BY CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS, A.K.A.

DE KLEESCHEN, TO A COUPLE OF THE SCHOOLS IN WILTZ.

TWO YOUNG ANGELS, 11-YEAR-OLD SCHOOLGIRLS LILIANE MONTUC AND JANICE SCHLINGER WOULD ACCOMPANY ST. NICK AND HOLD HIS FLOWING CAPE DURING THE PRE-PARTY FESTIVITIES.

THE U.S. ARMY JEEP WOULD SERVE AS THEIR SLEIGH.

THE FIRST STOP FOR THE AMERICAN ST. NICK WOULD BE THE PUBLIC SCHOOL IN WILTZ, WHERE THE CELEBRATION HAD ALREADY BEGUN.

DICK BROOKINS RECEIVED SOME LAST-MINUTE KLEESCHEN INSTRUCTIONS FROM HARRY STUTZ.

I DID ASK HIM AT ONE POINT, "WHAT DOES ST. NICOLAS DO?"

"OH, PAT THE KIDS ON THE HEAD AND CHUCK 'EM UNDER THE CHIN."

SO THAT'S WHAT I DID.

AND SMILE.

AND THEN, AS I GOT INTO THE ROLE A LITTLE BIT, THE HAM, I GUESS, I KNEW ENOUGH GERMAN TO ASK SOME YOUNGSTER HIS NAME, AND I COULDN'T EVEN TELL YOU WHAT HE SAID IN RETURN, BUT I'D RESPOND TO IT AND I'D PAT HIM ON THE HEAD AND CHUCK HIM UNDER THE CHIN AND SMILE.

I DON'T REMEMBER HAVING ANY...

THOUGHTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, "I WISH THIS WAS OVER."

I WAS ENJOYING IT.

THE KIDS WERE ENJOYING IT.

[ CHILDREN SINGING ] GATHERED WERE THE SCHOOLKIDS, THEIR MOTHERS, SISTERS, GRANDPARENTS, AND AUNTS.

THE YOUNG MEN OF WILTZ WERE NOTICEABLY ABSENT.

[ SINGING CONTINUES ] MANY OF THE CHILDREN WERE WEARING COSTUMES.

YOU JUST IMAGINE THESE CHILDREN, SOME WHO GREW UP HEARING THE STORY OF ST. NICOLAS BUT NEVER EXPERIENCED IT, AND NOW HERE HE WAS, IN THE FLESH, IN FRONT OF THEM.

IT WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT REALLY TOUCHED THEM DEEPLY -- SO MUCH SO THAT THEY VOWED THAT THEY WOULD NEVER FORGET IT.

[ "JINGLE BELLS" PLAYING ] ONE OF THE SOLDIERS FROM THE 28th DIVISION, HANK FIEBIG, BROUGHT ALONG HIS GUITAR TO PLAY CHRISTMAS SONGS.

THE MOOD WAS VERY FESTIVE, DESPITE A VERY LIGHT FREEZING RAIN.

THE COOKS OF THE 28th HAD MADE DOUGHNUTS.

CANDY WAS ALSO PASSED OUT.

GIFTS AND PACKAGES SENT TO THE SOLDIERS FROM LOVED ONES BACK HOME WERE ALSO DONATED TO THE ST. NICOLAS PARTY.

THERE WERE A LOT OF THOSE KIDS THAT, I DIDN'T REALIZE AT THE TIME, WHO HAD NEVER EVEN HAD A ST. NICOLAS DAY 'CAUSE THEY WERE TOO YOUNG.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY KNEW I WAS A SOLDIER.

I WAS DISGUISED ENOUGH WITH THIS OUTFIT THAT, OTHER THAN MAYBE MY SHOES SHOWING, IT WASN'T LIKE, "OH, IT'S AN AMERICAN SOLDIER."

CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS' ACTING JOB HAD BEEN ONE OF THE BEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR, THE AMERICAN ST. NICK AND HIS TWO ANGELS WERE BACK IN THEIR JEEP AND ON THEIR WAY TO WILTZ CASTLE.

A PROCESSION FOLLOWED THROUGH THE NARROW STREETS AS PEOPLE WAVED TO THE AMERICAN ST. NICK AND HIS ANGELS.

INSIDE THE COURTYARD OF THE CENTURIES-OLD WILTZ CASTLE, THERE WAS MORE SINGING.

OTHER ANGELS APPEARED, EACH HOLDING A SMALL FLAG OF LUXEMBOURG.

SONGS WERE SUNG, THE ATMOSPHERE ELECTRIC AND PATRIOTIC.

Interpreter: MY SISTER WAS 12 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME, AND I REMEMBER WHEN SHE CAME HOME FROM THE PARTY, SHE WAS VERY HAPPY.

DE KLEESCHEN -- THAT'S WHAT WE CALL ST. NICOLAS HERE IN LUXEMBOURG -- DE KLEESCHEN WAS THERE, SHE SAID, BUT HE DIDN'T TALK.

SO, SHE WAS GLAD TO SEE HIM, BUT HE DIDN'T TALK, AND WE BOTH THOUGHT IT A LITTLE UNUSUAL.

HOT CHOCOLATE MADE WITH MELTED-DOWN AMERICAN CHOCOLATE BARS WAS PASSED OUT.

MORE SONGS WERE SUNG.

THERE WAS DANCING AND SKITS PERFORMED BY THE KIDS.

CHILDREN CRAWLED ONTO DICK BROOKINS' LAP AND TOLD HIM WHAT THEY WANTED FOR CHRISTMAS.

BROOKINS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND MOST OF WHAT THEY SAID, BUT HE NODDED IN AGREEMENT.

IT ALL SEEMED SO FAR FROM LIFE UNDER THE GERMANS AND ALSO THE HUERTGEN FOREST.

NOBODY WANTED THE CELEBRATION TO END.

WHEN THE VERY LAST CHILD HAD VISITED WITH DE KLEESCHEN, CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS WAVED GOODBYE TO THE CROWD AND SLIPPED OUT OF SIGHT.

IT WAS TIME TO RETURN THE PRIEST'S ROBE AND ALL THE RELIGIOUS CLOTHING TO FATHER WOLFFE.

THAT ENTIRE DAY, HE HAD A SPLITTING HEADACHE FROM THE BISHOP'S MITRE THAT HE WAS WEARING, AND, AT ONE POINT, HARRY CAME UP TO HIM AND SAID, "HOW'S IT GOING?

THE KIDS SEEM TO BE LOVING IT."

AND HE SAID, "YOU KNOW, I'VE GOT THIS TERRIBLE HEADACHE."

AND HARRY SAID, "WELL, TAKE THE HAT OFF."

AND HE REFUSED.

HE SAID, "NO, I CAN'T DO THAT.

IT'S FOR THE KIDS.

I CAN'T DO THAT."

SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONCE HE STARTED, ONCE HE GOT INTO IT, HE WAS ST. NICOLAS THAT DAY.

DICK BROOKINS, THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, FINALLY RELAXED.

I DIDN'T EVEN REALI-- I WAS PLAYING A ROLE.

I WAS JUST A BIG KID AT A PARTY, I THINK.

[ CHUCKLES ] THE NEXT DAY, THE CITIZENS OF WILTZ WENT BACK TO WORK, AND THE CHILDREN RETURNED TO SCHOOL.

CHRISTMAS IN THE ARDENNES WAS NOW JUST 19 DAYS AWAY.

HARRY, AT THAT TIME, COMPLIMENTED ME.

YOU COULD SEE THAT HE WAS SATISFIED.

ON DECEMBER 6, 1944, DICK BROOKINS AND THE OTHER SOLDIERS OF THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION ALSO WENT BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF WAR, ALBEIT SAFELY BEHIND THE FRONT LINES.

WE WERE BACK IN UNIFORM AND PLAIN OLD G.I.s AND BACK TO WORK.

AND AFTER THAT DAY, YOU KNOW, THEY STILL HAD A WAR TO FIGHT AND THEY STILL HAD A JOB TO DO, AND THEY PRETTY MUCH FORGOT ABOUT THE EVENT -- THE SOLDIERS DID -- AND, TO THEM, IT WAS JUST A NICE DAY AND EVERYBODY HAD A GOOD TIME, BUT THEN THEY MOVED ON AND THE WAR CONTINUED, AND THEN WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AFTER THAT.

CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS AND THE MEN OF THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION WERE LIKE OTHER SOLDIERS STATIONED IN EUROPE IN THE EARLY WINTER OF 1944 -- HOPEFUL THAT THE WAR WOULD BE OVER BY CHRISTMAS.

THINGS WERE GOING SO WELL, "WE OUGHT TO BE OUT OF HERE IN NO TIME."

AND CHRISTMAS BEING A FOCAL POINT, THAT WAS A PRETTY GOOD ONE TO CENTRALIZE YOURSELF ON AND SAY, "YEAH, MAYBE WE'LL BE ON OUR WAY HOME BY -- BY CHRISTMAS."

ON THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 15, 1944, RICHARD BROOKINS FOUND HIMSELF IN CLERVAUX, A TOWN ABOUT 15 MILES NORTH OF WILTZ.

BROOKINS WAS THERE WITH A MOVIE PROJECTOR TO SHOW THE CHRISTMAS FILM "GOING MY WAY" TO SOLDIERS OF THE 110th REGIMENT OF THE 28th DIVISION WHO WERE STATIONED THERE.

AND THERE WAS NO END TO THAT, SAYING YOU'RE GONNA BE THERE TWO DAYS OR TWO HOURS OR WHAT.

THAT'S WHERE I WAS ASSIGNED UNTIL FURTHER NOTIFIED.

CLERVAUX WAS ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC LOCATION IN LUXEMBOURG, WITH A 12th-CENTURY OLD CASTLE RISING ABOVE THE TOWN.

BROOKINS WENT TO BED THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER 15, 1944, AROUND 10:00 P.M. [ EXPLOSIONS ] AT 5:00 A.M. ON DECEMBER 16th, DICK BROOKINS WOKE UP TO THE SOUNDS OF GERMAN ARTILLERY SHELLS EXPLODING IN CLERVAUX.

IT WAS THE BEGINNING MOMENTS OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE, GERMANY'S LAST MAJOR ATTEMPT TO SLICE A WEDGE BETWEEN THE ADVANCING AMERICAN AND BRITISH ARMIES AND RETAKE THE BELGIAN PORT OF ANTWERP.

THE ATTACK CAUGHT ALL THE AMERICANS BY SURPRISE.

THE PEOPLE IN LUXEMBOURG WERE TRYING TO ALERT THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS, AMERICAN HIGH COMMAND, THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON, 'CAUSE THEY KNEW, BUT THE AMERICAN HIGH COMMAND SORT OF JUST, YOU KNOW, DIDN'T BELIEVE THEM.

CLERVAUX WAS ON THE VERGE OF BEING OVERRUN BY THE FIRST WAVE OF GERMAN INFANTRY ATTACKS.

DICK BROOKINS DID WHAT HE COULD DO TO HELP WITH THE DEFENSE OF THE TOWN BUT KNEW HE HAD TO GET BACK TO THE 28th DIVISION HEADQUARTERS IN WILTZ.

WELL, BY THAT TIME, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT THERE WAS SOME KIND OF AN ATTACK GOING ON.

OF WHAT SEVERITY AND WHAT LENGTH, WE DIDN'T KNOW.

BEFORE LEAVING CLERVAUX, DICK BROOKINS AND ANOTHER SOLDIER HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH TWO GERMANS.

BROOKINS SHOT BOTH WITH HIS M1 CARBINE AS THE ENEMY TRIED TO SET UP AN MG42 MACHINE GUN.

THE TWO AMERICANS HITCHED A RIDE IN AN ARMY LAUNDRY TRUCK BACK TO WILTZ.

THE GERMANS WERE RIGHT ON THEIR HEELS.

THE 28th DIVISION, FROM WILTZ TO CLERVAUX, WAS SPREAD SO THIN THAT THE LINES WERE POROUS, AND IT WAS A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE GERMANS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT, AND THEY DID POUR RIGHT THROUGH AND TOOK EVERYBODY BY SURPRISE.

AND, ODDLY ENOUGH, THE ORDERS WERE FOR THE PEOPLE IN WILTZ, THE SOLDIERS HERE, TO RETREAT AND FALL BACK TO BASTOGNE.

I REPORTED BACK TO DUTY, TO MY SECTION, AND THE CURIOSITY, QUESTIONS ASKED BY SEVERAL OFFICERS WHAT WAS GOING ON IN CLERVAUX, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF STUFF I COULDN'T ANSWER 'CAUSE I HADN'T SEEN ANYTHING.

THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION WOULD EVENTUALLY EVACUATE WILTZ ON DECEMBER 19th.

IT BROKE THE SOLDIERS' HEARTS TO HAVE TO ABANDON THIS TOWN THAT THEY HAD COME TO KNOW IN THE TIME THAT THEY WERE THERE, BUT THEY REALLY HAD NO CHOICE.

IN THE MAD SCRAMBLE TO GET OUT OF THIS SECTION OF LUXEMBOURG, IT WAS PRETTY MUCH EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.

JUST -- JUST YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN.

THE 28th HAD BEEN HIT HARD BY THE GERMAN 5th PANZER ARMY AT CLERVAUX, AND THE BULGE IN THE AMERICAN LINES WAS NOW BEING PUSHED BACK TOWARD WILTZ.

DICK BROOKINS HEADED TOWARD BASTOGNE.

YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY LEFT AND THEY HAD TO LEAVE TOWN BECAUSE OF THE ADVANCING GERMANS, THAT WAS IT.

THEY HAD A WAR TO FIGHT, AND THEY NEVER CAME BACK DURING THE WAR.

THEY NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO COME BACK TO WILTZ.

ASSIGNMENTS TOOK THEM ELSEWHERE.

AS HEADLINES BACK HOME CHRONICLED HITLER'S WELL-PLANNED AND UNEXPECTED GERMAN ATTACK THROUGH THE ARDENNES FOREST, A FEW OF RICHARD BROOKINS' CLOSE FRIENDS IN THE 28th VOLUNTEERED TO COVER THE AMERICAN RETREAT OUT OF WILTZ.

SEVERAL OF THOSE AMERICAN SOLDIERS WERE CAPTURED BY THE GERMANS.

OTHER AMERICANS WHO STAYED BEHIND WERE KILLED IN THE FIGHT, INCLUDING BROOKINS' CLOSE FRIEND EDDIE STINE.

HE GOT KILLED BY SHRAPNEL FROM -- I DON'T KNOW -- FROM A MORTAR OR SOMETHING.

I NEVER DID KNOW THAT.

BUT, UH...

HE WAS A HERO FOR US, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF OTHER GUYS, TOO, BUT EDDIE GOT -- GOT HIT.

AND WE HEARD ABOUT THAT LATER, AND THAT BROKE EVERYBODY UP 'CAUSE HE WAS A VERY POPULAR GUY, VERY NICE GUY.

DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF EDDIE STINE AND THOSE WHO STAYED BEHIND, WILTZ FELL BACK INTO THE HANDS OF THE GERMAN ARMY DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE.

THE LOCALS LEFT TO EXAMINE THE REMNANTS OF THE FIGHT.

GERMAN ADVANCE WAS SO QUICK AND SO FAST AND WAS SO POINTED, BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO GET TO ANTWERP -- THAT WAS THE WHOLE GOAL -- THAT THEY BASICALLY RAN THROUGH THE TOWN.

IT WASN'T QUITE THE SAME OCCUPATION AS IT HAD BEEN IN THE YEARS LEADING UP TO IT.

THIS WAS A FAST AND FURIOUS ADVANCE THROUGH WILTZ.

BUT, SADLY, THE RETAKING OF THE TOWN BY THE AMERICANS AND BY THE ALLIES INVOLVED HEAVY BOMBING, AND THAT'S WHEN MOST OF THE TOWN WAS THEN DESTROYED AFTER THE AMERICANS WERE FORCED TO RETREAT.

OVER 80% OF WILTZ WAS LEFT DESTROYED BY AMERICAN EFFORTS TO PUSH THE GERMANS OUT OF LUXEMBOURG AND BELGIUM.

MANY OF THE SCHOOLCHILDREN AND ADULTS WHO HAD ENJOYED ST. NICOLAS DAY JUST A MONTH BEFORE WERE NOW DEAD AND THEIR HOMES AND SCHOOLS REDUCED TO RUBBLE BY AMERICAN BOMBERS WHO HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO FORCE THE GERMANS OUT BY BOMBING WILTZ.

THERE WAS A BOYS' SCHOOL IN THE CENTER OF TOWN THAT WAS DESTROYED.

THE HOSPITAL HAD SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE.

IT WAS DEVASTATING, AND THE CIVILIANS THAT WERE HERE, THAT REMAINED -- AND THAT WAS MOST OF THEM -- YOU KNOW, THEY WERE HUDDLING IN THEIR BASEMENTS, JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE, AND MANY DID, BUT, IN THE END RESULT, THE TOWN WAS JUST DEVASTATED -- JUST ABSOLUTELY PRETTY MUCH LAID TO RUIN.

FOLLOWING THE BULGE, RICHARD BROOKINS AND THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION MOVED TO THE ALSACE-LORRAINE AND COLMAR REGIONS OF FRANCE.

FOLLOWING GERMANY'S FORMAL SURRENDER TO THE ALLIES IN MAY OF 1945, THE 28th DIVISION RETURNED TOGETHER TO THE UNITED STATES ON TROOP TRANSPORT SHIPS, ARRIVING IN BOSTON HARBOR IN AUGUST.

RICHARD BROOKINS WAS ABOARD THE GENERAL BROOK.

LIKE MANY OF THE SOLDIERS HE CAME HOME WITH ON THE BOAT FOLLOWING THE END OF THE WAR, DICK BROOKINS' HOPE WAS TO MOVE ON WITH HIS LIFE AND PUT THE MEMORIES OF WORLD WAR II BEHIND HIM.

I DON'T RECALL HAVING ANY... POST-TRAUMA CONDITIONS AT ALL.

I WAS CERTAINLY NOT AN INFANTRY GUY THAT SAW TERRIBLE THINGS EVERY MOMENT OF HIS LIFE.

I WASN'T UNDER A GREAT DEAL OF FIRE AT ANY TIME.

RICHARD BROOKINS RETURNED TO ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, AND, IN 1945, MARRIED VIRGINIA CURRY.

I WAS LIKE 16 MILLION OTHER GUYS THAT COME OUT OF THE ARMY WITH SIMILAR KIND OF EXPERIENCES IN ONE FASHION OR ANOTHER, MORE EXTREME THAN OTHERS, BUT THE BIG THING WAS TO START MY LIFE, GET A JOB, RAISE A FAMILY.

THERE WERE MANY REUNIONS OF THE SOLDIERS FROM THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION OVER THE YEARS, BUT THE G.I.s' TIME IN WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG, AND ANY SPECIAL MEMORIES OF INTERACTION WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE IN 1944 NEVER CAME UP.

WILTZ WAS REBUILT FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II.

NEW BUILDINGS REPLACED THOSE DESTROYED IN THE ALLIED BOMBINGS IN 1945.

BUT WHAT WAS NEVER FORGOTTEN BY THE PEOPLE THERE WAS THAT DECEMBER DAY IN 1944, WHEN SOME AMERICAN SOLDIERS BROUGHT BACK THE TRADITION OF ST. NICOLAS TO THEIR COMMUNITY.

THE SOLDIERS OF THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION HAD RESTORED HOPE AND FAITH TO A COMMUNITY THAT HAD SUFFERED GREATLY FROM YEARS OF GERMAN OCCUPATION.

THEY VOWED THAT THEY WOULD ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS GROUP OF SOLDIERS AND THIS EVENT, AND, TO THIS DAY, THEY HAVE.

IN THE LATE 1940s, A WILTZ COMMUNITY LEADER DECIDED THAT THE KINDNESS OF THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS ON THAT DECEMBER DAY IN 1944 SHOULD BECOME MORE THAN JUST A MEMORY.

ONE OF THE KEY PEOPLE IN STARTING KEEPING THIS TRADITION ALIVE WAS JEAN SCHWEIG, WHO WAS HERE DURING THE WAR.

HE WAS A WILTZ TOWN MEMBER, AND HE WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO VOWED THAT HE WOULD NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO FORGET WHAT THIS HANDFUL OF SOLDIERS HAD DONE FOR THIS TOWN AND FOR THE CHILDREN AND, GOING FORWARD, SAID THAT WE WOULD NOW INCLUDE A NEW TRADITION IN OUR ST. NICOLAS DAY CELEBRATION, AND THAT WOULD BE THAT SOMEBODY FROM THE TOWN WOULD BE CHOSEN TO BE NOT JUST ST. NICOLAS BUT TO BE THE AMERICAN ST. NICOLAS AND THAT THEIR NEW TRADITION WOULD BE THEY WOULD RETRACE THE ROUTE THAT THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN ST.

NICOLAS TOOK DURING THE WAR IN THE JEEP AS A WAY TO HONOR AND PRESERVE THE MEMORY OF WHAT THESE SOLDIERS HAD DONE.

MY DAD -- HE WAS BORN IN 1928, AND SO HE LIVED THAT WAR, TOO, SO HE WAS THERE.

HE WAS DETERMINED THAT HE WAS GOING TO TRY TO FIND THESE SOLDIERS.

THEY HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF WHETHER THEY LIVED OR DIED, AND, AGAIN, BY JUST SHEER CIRCUMSTANCE, FRANK McCLELLAND WAS COMING THROUGH WILTZ IN THE '70s.

HE WAS SORT OF RETRACING HIS STEPS DURING THE WAR AND WAS APPROACHED BY JEAN SCHWEIG.

AND JEAN SHOWED HIM THESE PHOTOS AND POINTED OUT THIS SOLDIER DRESSED AS ST. NICOLAS AND ASKED FRANK, DID HE KNOW HIM?

AND WHEN HE RETURNED TO THE STATES, HE ENDED UP LOOKING UP DICK BROOKINS IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, AND, SURE ENOUGH, THERE HE WAS, AND HE PASSED THE INFORMATION ON TO THE TOWN OF WILTZ, AND IT SPRANG FROM THERE.

WE LIVED IT WITH MY FATHER -- HOW HE TRIED TO GET THOSE PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

HE WROTE LETTERS.

HE MADE RESEARCHES.

HE WORKED WITH THE AMERICAN EMBASSY.

I GET A LETTER... AIR MAIL...

IN ONION-SKIN PAPER, ABOUT EIGHT SHEETS, VERY METICULOUSLY WRITTEN IN LUXEMBOURG ENGLISH.

DICK WAS COMPLETELY SHOCKED, COMPLETELY SURPRISED -- HAD NO IDEA THAT ANY OF THIS HAD TAKEN PLACE.

AND LISTENING TO THIS TRANSLATION OF THE GUY'S MAIN MISSION IN LIFE AND DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE WHAT SIGNIFICANCE THIS WAS.

IT WAS ONLY THEN THAT HE WENT UP TO THE ATTIC AND LITERALLY OPENED A FOOTLOCKER, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY, INTO WHAT HAD TAKEN PLACE.

AND, OF COURSE, THIS BROUGHT EVERYTHING BACK IN TERMS OF REMEMBRANCE OF THAT PARTY.

FOR 30 YEARS, THIS HAD BEEN GOING ON IN HIS HONOR AND TO HONOR THE GUYS THAT HAD DONE THIS.

AND HE SAID, "I WOULD ASK YOU, WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME AND HELP ME BY BEING ST.

NICOLAS?"

IT WAS NOT A PART OF HIS LIFE UNTIL THEN.

WELL, IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG TO DECIDE, AND IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG FOR MY WIFE AND I TO DECIDE WE WANTED OUR KIDS TO COME, TOO.

IT HAD TAKEN MORE THAN 30 YEARS, BUT THE ORIGINAL AMERICAN ST. NICK WAS RETURNING TO WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG.

TO ME, IT WAS A, UH... VALIDATION OF WHAT THOSE GUYS WENT THROUGH AND WHAT THEY DID AND THAT THE PEOPLE THAT THEY LIBERATED WERE STILL GRATEFUL.

SO, IN 1977, RICHARD BROOKINS, THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, FOUND HIMSELF ON HIS WAY BACK TO WILTZ.

HE HAD NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT -- THAT AN ENTIRE REGION WAS ANXIOUSLY AWAITING HIS RETURN.

HE HAD NO CLUE WHAT HIS ACTING ROLE ON THAT DECEMBER DAY IN 1944 HAD COME TO SYMBOLIZE.

AND THE BIGGEST IMPRESSION I GOT -- WHEN I WALKED INTO THIS TOWN, IT LOOKED EXACTLY AS I HAD LEFT IT.

THEY HAD REBUILT THE TOWN WITH THE SAME FACADE FEATURES.

INSIDE, OBVIOUSLY, WAS UP TO DATE AND MODERN, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF SHOPS THAT WERE OPERATING DURING WARTIME AND JUST THE IDEAL PLACE TO COME, LIKE A FAIRY-BOOK KIND OF A PLACE.

IN EARLY DECEMBER OF 1977, DICK BROOKINS, THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, MADE HIS LONG-AWAITED RETURN TO WILTZ IN FULL COSTUME.

I'D START OUT BY SAYING THIS IS A FAIRY TALE, BUT IT'S A TRUE ONE, AND THERE'S -- IT'S LIKE A FAIRY TALE.

IT HAS A BEGINNING AND A MIDDLE, BUT THERE'S NO END, AND THERE HASN'T BEEN YET.

AND IT'S GROWN AND GROWN.

THE MAIN MOVER AND SHAKER WAS THIS FELLA THAT WROTE ME THE LETTER.

AT THE TIME THAT ALL THIS TRANSPIRED DURING THE WAR, HE WAS 17 YEARS OLD, AND IT WAS HIS GOAL TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE HERE WOULD EVER FORGET WHAT HAPPENED HERE UNDER THE GERMANS AND HOW THEY'D HAD TO LIVE.

I HADN'T REALIZED THIS HAD BEEN SUCH AN EXTRAORDINARY EVENT, AND WE MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT.

AND IT STILL GOES ON.

THE ROUTE OF THE PARADE IN 1977 WAS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS IT HAD BEEN IN 1944, WHEN CORPORAL RICHARD BROOKINS MADE HIS WAY THROUGH THE STREETS OF WILTZ IN A U.S. ARMY JEEP, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS YOUNG ANGELS.

THIS TIME DICK BROOKINS' RIDE WAS A LOT BIGGER.

AS IT HAD SO LONG AGO, WILTZ CASTLE WOULD HOST THE BIG ST. NICOLAS DAY PARTY.

FRANK McCLELLAND, WHO FIRST REACHED OUT TO DICK BROOKINS ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF WILTZ, WAS THERE IN 1977, AND SO WAS THE MAN WHO ORGANIZED THE CHRISTMAS PARTY THAT DECEMBER DAY, RICHARD BROOKINS' BEST BUDDY FROM THE 28th DIVISION, HARRY STUTZ.

FATHER VICTOR WOLFFE WAS THERE TO WELCOME BACK DICK BROOKINS, TOO.

THEY KNEW THEN HOW MUCH THIS SMALL LITTLE EVENT THAT THEY DID BACK IN THE WAR -- THEY KNEW THEN HOW MUCH IT HAD IMPACTED THE TOWN AND HOW MUCH IT MEANT TO THEM.

AND THEY CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT.

AND THEY'VE TOLD THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN -- THEY'RE ON THIRD GENERATIONS HERE.

AND DICK, TO HIS CREDIT, REMEMBERED THAT DURING THE WAR, THE PEOPLE IN WILTZ AND IN LUXEMBOURG WERE FORBIDDEN TO SPEAK THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE, SO WHAT DICK HAD DONE IS HE HAD WRITTEN OUT A SPEECH AND HAD IT TRANSLATED PHONETICALLY INTO THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE, AND WHEN HE WAS ASKED TO PLAY ST. NICOLAS AGAIN AND GIVE A SPEECH TO THE CHILDREN, TO THE PEOPLE, HE DID IT IN THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE AS A WAY TO THANK THEM FOR REMEMBERING WHAT THEY HAD DONE.

AS LONG AS THEY WANT ME TO BE PART OF IT EVERY SO OFTEN, THAT'S WHY I COME -- FOR THEM.

AND I ALSO COME TO HONOR THE GUYS THAT DID ALL THE WORK WITH ME THAT DIDN'T GET THIS BREAK LIKE I GOT.

RICHARD BROOKINS HAS RETURNED TO WILTZ SEVERAL TIMES SINCE HIS FIRST TRIP IN 1977.

THE REACTION OF THOSE WHO LIVE HERE CONTINUES TO AMAZE HIM.

THIS IS THE STORY OF THEIR LIFE AND THEIR PARENTS' LIFE, AND THEY DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO FORGET.

THE WORD HAD SPREAD, AND PEOPLE FROM TOWNS ALL AROUND AND MILES ALL AROUND KNEW THE STORY AND KNEW OF THE AMERICAN ST. NICK AND KNEW THAT HE WOULD BE BACK AND HAD ALL COME AND GATHERED HERE JUST TO BE A PART OF IT.

I THINK I REPRESENT, UH... WHAT... MIGHT SAY WHAT KINDNESS IS.

FOLLOWING HIS ENCORE PERFORMANCE AS THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, DICK BROOKINS RETURNED THE HONOR OF PLAYING THE ROLE TO LOCAL CITIZENS OF WILTZ, AS CHOSEN BY A COMMITTEE.

OVER THE YEARS, RICHARD BROOKINS' SLEIGH WAS ONCE AGAIN TRADED IN FOR AN ARMY JEEP.

HE WASN'T DRESSED AS ST. NICOLAS ANYMORE, BUT STILL, HE WAS THE ONE EVERYONE WANTED TO SEE -- THE ORIGINAL.

THE AMERICAN ST. NICK.

HOW ARE YOU?

MY BROTHER ST. NICOLAS.

YES.

HE'S A ROCK STAR HERE, YOU KNOW?

AND THE PEOPLE LOVE HIM.

THE PEOPLE STOP HIM FOR HIS AUTOGRAPH, AND THEY WANT TO SHAKE HIS HAND, WANT TO GET A PICTURE TAKEN WITH HIM.

BUT HE IS ONE OF THE MOST HUMBLE PEOPLE ABOUT IT.

I MEAN, HE'LL SAY TO THIS DAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT ABOUT HIM.

IT WAS ABOUT THE OTHER GUYS THAT WERE HERE AND THOSE WHO DIDN'T COME HOME.

AT ANY TIME, DE KLEESCHEN IS SOMETHING SPECIAL -- ALSO THE OTHER YEARS -- BUT THE YEARS WHERE THE AMERICAN KLEESCHEN, WE SAY HERE, COMES, THAT'S SOMETHING EVEN MORE SPECIAL BECAUSE PARENTS TELL THEIR CHILDREN, "YOU SEE?

THAT'S A MAN WHO WAS HERE WHO LIBERATED THE COUNTRY."

BROOKINS' IMPACT CAN BE SEEN EVERYWHERE IN WILTZ TODAY.

THE KIDS HE BROUGHT JOY TO THEN HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN THAT DAY SO LONG AGO...

THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, AGING GRACEFULLY RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM.

RETURNING TO WILTZ THROUGH THE YEARS HAS ALSO ALLOWED RICHARD BROOKINS THE CHANCE TO VISIT OLD FRIENDS WHO NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENJOY THE GRATITUDE SHOWED BY THE PEOPLE OF LUXEMBOURG.

IT JUST GETS ME EVERY TIME.

EDDIE STINE IS ONE OF MORE THAN 5,000 G.I.s BURIED AT THE AMERICAN CEMETERY IN HAMM.

BROOKINS STOPS BY HERE EVERY CHANCE HE GETS.

THE TWO BOYS.

SAME RANK AS ME.

RADIO OPERATOR.

HE WAS A RIFLEMAN.

SEE THE NUMBER, THE 29th.

HE LANDED ON D-DAY BUT HAD MADE IT -- HE MADE IT THROUGH A WHOLE NOTHER MONTH AND A HALF.

YEAH.

CHARLES, EDGAR TOGETHER.

[ CRYING ] OKAY.

THAT'S GOOD.

THANKS.

HEY, EDDIE.

YOU WERE ONE OF THE CHILDREN?

YES.

NO, NO.

YOU'RE TOO YOUNG.

[ LAUGHTER ] THANK YOU.

ONE OF DICK BROOKINS' FINAL TRIPS TO WILTZ CAME IN 2014.

AGE HAD CAUGHT UP WITH THE AMERICAN ST. NICK.

OH, YOU MADE IT.

OHH.

DE KLEESCHEN'S STEPS ARE NOW MEASURED, AN OXYGEN TANK IN TOW.

YOU ARE LIVING VERY WELL.

WELL, THANK YOU.

LIFE IS TOUGHER FOR HIM NOW.

HIS BODY'S LETTING HIM DOWN.

BUT ONCE HE'S IN AMONGST THESE PEOPLE, IT'S REJUVENATING.

HE FEEDS OFF IT.

HE FEEDS OFF THE ENERGY.

HE FEEDS OFF THE ENTHUSIASM.

HE FEEDS OFF THEIR CARE, CARING, FOR HIM.

AND THEY REALLY DO CARE FOR HIM, YOU KNOW?

TO HIM, AT THE SAME TIME, HE'S ST. NICOLAS, THE SYMBOL, BUT HE'S ALSO THEIR GRANDFATHER.

AS ALWAYS, THE PEOPLE OF WILTZ MAKE SURE BROOKINS UNDERSTOOD THE LOVE THEY HAVE FOR HIM AND WHAT HE STILL REPRESENTS TO ALL ITS CITIZENS.

OKAY.

SHOW ME WHICH ONE.

UH...THAT'S ME.

THAT'S YOU?

YES.

LET'S SEE HERE.

WONDERFUL.

YOU'RE LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH A GOOD GRANDMA.

WAS THE CANDY GOOD?

VERY GOOD.

[ MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] THERE IS AN ANNUAL CONCERT AT THE LOCAL SCHOOL... [ BELL TOLLING ] ...A CHURCH SERVICE ON THE MORNING OF THE ANNUAL AMERICAN ST. NICK FESTIVAL... [ CHOIR SINGING ] [ DRUMROLL ] ...A WREATH-LAYING AT THE MONUMENT TO THE 28th INFANTRY DIVISION NEAR WILTZ CASTLE...

[ TAPS PLAYING ] WOW!

[ APPLAUSE ] ...AND ON A CHILLY DECEMBER MORNING IN 2014, THE UNVEILING OF A NEW STATUE IN FRONT OF WILTZ CASTLE RECOGNIZING AN AMERICAN SOLDIER WEARING GLASSES, DONNED IN PRIEST'S GARMENTS AND A FLOWING CAPE.

HE'S WEARING A HAT THAT WAS MUCH TOO TIGHT BACK THEN AND AN ITCHY ROPE BEARD.

IT'S A GREAT FEELING TO HAVE SUCH GREAT FRIENDS IN LUXEMBOURG, AND I AM SO PLEASED AND PROUD THAT A BUNCH OF AMERICAN GUYS THAT COULD HELP THEM LIVE THEIR LIVES THE WAY THEY SHOULD LIVE.

I AM A WITNESS OF THE TIME.

AHA.

YES.

IN 1944, I SEEN YOU FOR THE FIRST TIME.

IN 1944, THE MAN THE STATUE HONORS, THIS AMERICAN ST. NICOLAS, BECAME A SYMBOL OF HOPE FOR A TOWN THAT WAS CAUGHT UP IN A WORLD WAR.

[ MARCHING BAND PLAYS ] HELLO!

THE ANNUAL AMERICAN ST. NICOLAS DAY PARADE BEGINS MUCH LIKE IT DID ON DECEMBER 5, 1944, WITH RICHARD BROOKINS IN AN ARMY JEEP.

HI.

[ SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY ] HI, THERE.

MADAME.

[ MUSIC CONTINUES ] AND IT'S STILL SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART FOR THEM.

IT WAS EVEN MORE SO THEN, BUT THE SPIRIT IS STILL THERE.

OH, LOOK AT ALL THESE GUYS.

THERE WOULD BE MORE SONGS AND GIFT-GIVING INSIDE THE WILTZ CASTLE WALLS.

[ ALL SINGING ] THANK YOU.

[ APPLAUSE ] [ MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS ] BUT TODAY, A MAJOR FESTIVAL CAPS OFF THE CELEBRATION IN A LOCAL AMPHITHEATER.

THE AMPHITHEATER HAD YET TO BE BUILT WHEN DICK BROOKINS HAD FIRST RETURNED TO WILTZ IN 1977.

IN THE AMPHITHEATER, THE CHILDREN SAT ON THE LAP OF ST. NICOLAS, TELLING HIM WHAT THEY WANTED FOR CHRISTMAS.

THEY ALSO TELL DE KLEESCHEN IF THEY'VE BEEN NAUGHTY OR NICE THAT YEAR.

WHATEVER THE ANSWER, THE KIDS LEAVE THE STAGE WHERE ST. NICK SITS ON HIS THRONE WITH A BAG OF GIFTS AND SMILES ON THEIR FACES.

WHAT YOU GOT THERE?

JUST A FEW FEET AWAY, RICHARD BROOKINS WATCHES ALL THIS FROM A WHEELCHAIR... HA HA!

LOOK AT THIS ONE!

...AND FROM TIME TO TIME GREETS THE CHILDREN... HI, SWEETHEART.

HOW ARE YOU?

...THE MAJORITY OF WHOM HAVE NO IDEA WHO THIS AMERICAN SENIOR CITIZEN WAS OR IS.

HI!

HOW ARE YOU?

THANK YOU FOR COMING.

OH, YOU'RE WELCOME.

I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE.

YEAH?

WHAT IS THAT?

IS THAT THE DE KLEESCHEN?

PERHAPS AT DINNER THAT NIGHT, THEIR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WILL TELL THEM A STORY ABOUT AN AMERICAN SOLDIER WHO DID SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL ON DECEMBER 5, 1944...

THE DAY HARRY STUTZ HELPED RICHARD BROOKINS LAND THE ROLE OF HIS LIFE AS DE KLEESCHEN.

KNOWN FOREVER IN WILTZ, LUXEMBOURG... AS THE AMERICAN ST. NICK.

I THINK IT WILL ALWAYS MEAN A GREAT DEAL TO THE PEOPLE HERE.

I MEAN, IF YOU WALK DOWN THE MAIN STREET IN TOWN, THE AMERICAN FLAG AND THE LUXEMBOURG FLAG FLY SIDE BY SIDE, AND I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN DICK'S GONE AND HE'S NO LONGER ABLE TO COME BACK AS THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, I DON'T THINK THAT'LL CHANGE.

IT WILL STILL BE A CELEBRATION OF THE AMERICAN ST. NICK, AND THEY'LL STILL RETRACE HIS STEPS AND HIS ROUTE IN THE JEEP FROM 1944.

THAT'LL STILL GO ON, AND I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO REALIZE WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE AMERICAN SOLDIERS DID HER AND WHAT IT MEANT TO THE PEOPLE HERE, WHAT, YOU KNOW -- WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT SOLDIERS, THEY ARE AMBASSADORS.

YOU KNOW, THEY DO REPRESENT THE BEST OF US.

AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE PRIME EXAMPLES OF THAT.

I REMEMBER THE PRIEST, HIS VERY FIRST SPEECH IN '77, HE SAID IF LUXEMBOURG SHOULD LIVE ANOTHER 1,000 YEARS, WE WILL NEVER FORGET...

THE G.I.s WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES, WHO GAVE THEIR BLOOD, SO THAT WE MAY LIVE IN FREEDOM.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM PROVIDED BY... WARGAMING, DEVELOPER OF ONLINE WORLD WAR II GAMES "WORLD OF TANKS" AND UPCOMING "WORLD OF WARSHIPS."

WARGAMING HONORS THE GREATEST GENERATION BY SUPPORTING HERITAGE PROJECTS, EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES, AND STORIES LIKE THIS.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY... SUPPORT FOR THIS PROGRAM ALSO MADE POSSIBLE BY...